Page 46 of Marcello

Of course, it was all one-sided. I knew I was completely in the wrong, and I didn’t feel like fighting with her, so I just agreed with everything she said.

I know. You’re right.

Yes, I know it was ungrateful of me. I’m sorry.

Yes, I realize how bad it makes you look, and I’m sorry.

Didn’t matter how much I apologized. She still ripped me five new assholes.

It probably didn’t help, though, that I apologized in a weary voice, like Is this ever going to end?

At one point, she yelled, “I should throw you the fuck out!”

That was the only time I got mad.

But instead of coming back at her angrily, I went cold.

Ice water in the veins.

“Is that what you want?” I asked quietly. “For me to leave? If it is, I’ll go.”

She sensed something had shifted, and she backtracked quickly. “NO – I don’t want you to go – but you can’t go around making me look like a fucking idiot!”

“It’ll never happen again,” I promised.

Because I won’t be working with you anymore, I wanted to say – but I knew that would only piss her off more, so I bit my tongue.

She burned herself out after another ten minutes of shouting, then smoked some pot.

No sex.

No problem.

I had a Sotto Napoli handbook to memorize.

I was still studying it long after she went to sleep.

I was a model employee at Sotto Napoli.

I arrived early for work, and I was always dressed nicely. I even started getting my clothes pressed at the local laundromat so I looked as good as possible.

I memorized the entire tour script in a matter of days. As Pasquale recited his presentation to the groups, I would silently mouth the words along with him.

I helped frightened people use the emergency exits to get back to street level. A couple of them complimented me on how comforting I was.

I even tried to make friends with ’o Munaciello.

During our lunch break, I saw him eating a sandwich out of a greasy paper wrapper.

I came up to him and said, “Hi, I’m Marcello. I’m the new guy.”

He answered, “Buono pe’ tte. Mo’ vaffanculo.”

Good for you. Now fuck off.

I paused… then turned and walked away.

I didn’t make friends with ’o Munaciello, but everybody else liked me. I was polite, didn’t make any waves, and did everything Pasquale told me to do.